Film Reviews

Friday, 22 March 2013

Lost locks of the BCN?

Lost locks of the BCNMarch 2013A question was posed recently:How many locks are there on the BCN (fairly easy) and how many locks have been lost (not so easy).You cant pass up on that sort of question, but neither can you hope to find the answer on your own. So, I enrolled the help of my friends on the CWDF and slowly a list started to emerge.The problem of definitions soon emerged (as they usually do) with scenarios being ruled in and out of scope. By the time we finished we had a provisional tally of 115. It seemed a shame to lose this bit of information so here is the list as it currently stands - unless, as often quoted by Esther Rantzen, you know better...Bentley Canal 10Sneyd Locks 5Essington Locks 5Ogley Locks (W&E) 30Toll End Communication 7Bradley Locks Branch 9Old Delph Locks 9 (its actually 7 - the original top and bottom locks remain)Two Locks Line 2Gibsons Branch 1Smethwick Summit 6Smethwick duplicates 3Gospel Oak (Dumaresq) 2Churchbridge Locks 13Tipton Green 3Blowers extra 1Foxyards 4Bradley Marr 2Robinsons Tar 1Bromford Ironworks 1Slough Arm 1

Total 115Those we discounted:

Then there are the ones we have discounted, the moved or rebuilt locks like the one at the M42 on the Birmingham and Fazeley or the lost deep lock at the bottom of the Wolverhampton 21 when it was the Wolverhampton 20.

The bottom 4 of the original arm at the bottom the the Bradley Flight became 3 of the current flight.

The other ones ignored are the stop locks such as those and Worcester and Warwick Bars plus the one at the start of the Wyrley and Essington at Horsleyfields Junction.

So thats the lost as it stands - are there any more out there which we should add to the list?Bentley 10, Sneyd 5, Essington Locks 5, Slough 1, Ogley 30, Toll End 9, Bradley 9, Old Delph 9, Two Locks 2, Gibsons 1, Smethwich old summit 6, Smethwick duplicates 3, Gospel Oak (Dumaresq) 2